Glenfiddich

History

The Glenfiddich Distillery was founded in 1886 by William Grant in Dufftown, Scotland, in the glen of the River Fiddich. The Glenfiddich single malt whisky first ran from the stills on Christmas Day, 1887.

In the 1920s, with prohibition in force in the USA, Glenfiddich was one of a very small number of distilleries to increase production. This put them in a strong position to meet the sudden rise in demand for fine aged whiskies that came with the repeal of prohibition.

In the 1950s, the Grant family built up an onsite infrastructure that included coppersmiths to maintain the copper stills, and a dedicated cooperage that is now one of the very few remaining in distilleries. In 1956 the Grant's brand launched the now-iconic triangular bottle, designed by Hans Schleger.

Following difficult times in the 1960s and '70s, many small, independent distillers were bought up or went out of business. In order to survive, W. Grant & Sons expanded their production of the drink, and introduced advertising campaigns and a visitors' centre. In this period they also took the decision to begin marketing single malt as a premium brand in its own right, effectively creating the modern single malt whisky category.

Later, W. Grant & Sons was one of the first distilleries to package its bottles in tubes and gift tins, as well as recognising the importance of the duty-free market for spirits. This marketing strategy was successful, and Glenfiddich has now become the world's best-selling single malt. It is sold in 180 countries, and accounts for about 35% of single malt sales.

Glenfiddich is currently managed by the fifth generation of William Grant's descendants.

In September 2014, William Grant & Sons agreed to acquire Drambuie for an undisclosed price rumoured to be in the region of £100 million.

Production

Glenfiddich whisky is produced at the Glenfiddich Distillery in Dufftown. The water source is the Robbie Dhu springs. Glenfiddich is matured in oak casks such as rum casks from the Caribbean (in the case of 21-year-old Gran Reserva), Bourbon whiskey barrels from America (Ancient Reserve), or sherry butts from Jerez in Spain.

The distillery uses 28 distinctively-shaped copper pot stills that are smaller than those now in use at most other distilleries. All are handmade and Glenfiddich employs a team of permanent craftsmen to maintain them.

Whiskies

In 1937, cask 843 was filled with spirit from the stills at The Glenfiddich distillery in Dufftown. Over its life ten consecutive warehouse masters watched over the cask. After 64 years, in October 2001, Glenfiddich's Malt Master David Stewart declared that cask 843 was finally ready to be bottled. Just 61 bottles were left in the cask.

Special and Limited Bottlings

Liqueur

Until 2011 Glenfiddich produced a liqueur called Glenfiddich Malt Whisky Liqueur that was 40% alcohol by volume, and sold in 50 cl (500 ml) bottles.

Critical acclaim

Glenfiddich's whiskies have performed well at international spirits ratings competitions. The 12, 15, 18, and 21-year offerings have all rated well in the San Francisco World Spirits Competition and the Beverage Testing Institutes' reviews. On balance, the 15-year whisky has performed the best, receiving three double-gold medals (in four years) at the 2007–2010 San Francisco competitions and a score of 91 with the Beverage Testing Institute. In 2017, Glenfiddich regional brand ambassador for Asia Pacific Matthew Fergusson-Stewart was named "Icons of Whisky" Brand Ambassador of the Year by Whisky Magazine.

In popular culture

Glenfiddich Awards

Since 1970, Glenfiddich has promoted the Glenfiddich Food and Drink Awards to honour distinguished writing and broadcasting in the fields of food and drink in the UK.